The Week in Reviews, Op. 295: Gil Shaham; Daniel Lozakovich; Leonidas Kavakos and Gautier Capuçon

October 29, 2019, 12:50 PM · In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world.

Gil Shaham. Photo by Luke Ratray.

Gil Shaham performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the New World Symphony.

South Florida Classical Review: "Shaham’s playing was accurate and seemingly effortless, as his rock-steady bow arm and perfect intonation seemed to easily handle Brahms’ knotty violin writing. Beyond that, he brought an edgy excitement to the performance, with his big, intense sound cutting through the massed forces of the orchestra."

Daniel Lozakovich performed the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

San Francisco Classical Voice: "It’s safe to say, if you have not yet been introduced to classical music’s latest violin phenom, Daniel Lozakovich, you soon will be....Lozakovich’s performance Saturday filled Disney Hall with his ability to produce voluminous tone, fragile-as-air harmonics, and lightning-fast virtuosity on the ex-Baron Rothschild Stradivarius. It was big. It was dazzling."

Leonidas Kavakos and cellist Gautier Capuçon performed Brahms’s Double Concerto with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Boston.

The Boston Globe: "At the front of the stage, Kavakos and Capuçon inverted the typical dynamic between their instruments, as Kavakos’s violin sang out in a warmer, richer timbre than Capuçon’s nicely granular cello. The two are frequent collaborators, and they faced off with unforced, vital energy, locked in with each other and the orchestra. When the audience insisted on an encore, they laid down a prankish second movement from Ravel’s sonata for violin and cello."

Richard Lin performed the Brahms Violin Concerto in D Major with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

NUVO: "...what happened between Lin and the ISO players was thrilling. Each held their own, the violinist proving virtuosity with a lovely cadenza, to which the ISO players approvingly listened, and in turn, the violinist attentively listening to the oboe solo, not at all put upon to stand and wait."

Gary Levinson performed the premiere of George Tsontakis’ Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra

The Dallas Morning News: "The piece was composed for Gary Levinson, the DSO’s senior principal associate concertmaster, and he played with great skill and commitment. Here, too, Spano led incisively, and the orchestra presumably did what it was supposed to."
Theater Jones: "After spending some time with the new concerto and mastering its almost transcendental technical demands, it turns out to be a good fit. Most importantly, it’ clear that he really enjoys playing it."

David Kim performed Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Philadelphia Inquirer: "...he offered a real and moving interpretation in the first movement."

Nemanja Radulovic performed in concert with Ensemble Liaison in Melbourne.

Limelight: "Radulovic entered ...and was joined by (Svetlana) Bogosavljevic for a Passacaglia by Handel, arranged for violin and cello by the 19th-century Swedish composer Johan Halvorsen. The rapport between these two players was remarkable, a delight to watch as much as to hear."

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